T-Mobile Claims Right to Censor Text Messages

T-Mobile told a federal judge Wednesday it may pick and choose which text messages to deliver on its network in a case weighing whether wireless carriers have the same "must carry" obligations as wire-line telephone providers.

The Bellevue, Washington-based wireless service is being sued by a texting service claiming T-Mobile stopped servicing its "short code" clients after it signed up a California medical marijuana dispensary. In a court filing, T-Mobile said it had the right to pre-approve EZ Texting's clientele, which it said the New York-based texting service failed to submit for approval.

EZ Texting offers a short code service, which works like this: A church could send its schedule to a cell phone user who texted "CHURCH" to 313131. Mobile phone users only receive text messages from EZ Texting's customers upon request. Each of its clients gets their own special word.

T-Mobile, the company wrote in a filing (.pdf) in New York federal court, "has discretion to require pre-approval for any short-code marketing campaigns run on its network, and to enforce its guidelines by terminating programs for which a content provider failed to obtain the necessary approval."

Such approval is necessary, T-Mobile added, "to protect the carrier and its customers from potentially illegal, fraudulent, or offensive marketing campaigns conducted on its network."

It's the first federal case testing whether wireless providers may block text messages they don't like.

The legal flap comes as the Federal Communications Commission has been dragging its feet over clarifying the rules for wireless carriers. The FCC was asked in 2007 to announce clear rules whether wireless carriers, unlike their wireline brethren, may ban legal content they do not support. The so-called "network neutrality" issue made huge headlines last month, when Google, along with Verizon, urged Congress not to bind wireless carriers to the same rules as wireline carriers.

EZ Texting claims it will go out of business if a judge does not promptly order T-Mobile to transmit its texts. T-Mobile accounts for 15 percent of the nation's wireless subscribers.

A similar text-messaging flap occurred in 2007, but ended without litigation, when Verizon reversed itself and allowed an abortion-rights group to send text messages to its supporters.

Multi-Device Wireless Broadband from Sprint MiFi

It's a MiFi, Sprint's new wireless broadband device, and it's geek gadget magic that'll realistically fit in your wallet. Disclosure! Sprint gave us a MiFi device to test. We tested it for a couple weeks and sent it back. We were sad to see it go.

We first tested the device with three laptops at a Facebook Vanity URL-Grabbing party. The host's WiFi connection was getting bogged down with traffic from about 20 other devices, so three of us picked a spot and huddled around the warmth of our own connection.

Sweetly simple and functional, the device easily accommodated the three users' surfing around. Multimedia uploads were as zippy as on a normal connection during the time we were test-driving the device.

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Buffalo Draft N Wireless Adapter

Buffalo Electronics is claiming that their WLI-UC-GN Wi-Fi dongle is the smallest Draft N 2.0 adapter in the world. Is it? Who knows. But it's definitely tiny, and surprisingly cheap.

At 33mm by 16mm, this dongle really couldn't be much smaller—the brains of the unit are almost the same size as the plug itself. Nor could it be much more affordable. Though it's only available in Japan for now, the price translates to about $25.

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Intel Develops Wireless POWER

Intel on Thursday showed off a wireless electric power system that analysts say could revolutionize modern life by freeing devices from transformers and wall outlets.

Intel chief technology officer Justin Rattner demonstrated a Wireless Energy Resonant Link as he spoke at the California firm's annual developers forum in San Francisco. Electricity was sent wirelessly to a lamp on stage, lighting a 60 watt bulb that uses more power than a typical laptop computer. Most importantly, the electricity was transmitted without zapping anything or anyone that got between the sending and receiving units.

"The trick with wireless power is not can you do it; it's can you do it safely and efficiently," Intel researcher Josh Smith said in an online video explaining the breakthrough.

read more | digg story

Securing Hotspot Connections

Sticking with the theme of internet security in the last few posts, here are some suggestions on protecting yourself while using public hotspots. These wireless hotspots can be found at places such as airports, hotels, Starbucks, etc. Generally these hotspots are open to everyone with no encryption or password settings. This can mean that anyone could possibly see your internet traffic. Although it is very convenient to easily access the internet at locations like these, it is worth while to take a few precautions.

• Make sure it's a legitimate hotspot: Nefarious types have been known to set up pirate routers with familiar SSID names like "wayport" or "t-mobile," and then use them to capture unsuspecting users' log-on information and other private data.
• For those connections you use only occasionally, drill down and change the setting from automatic connection to on demand. That means when you take your home laptop into work, you should be prompted to connect rather than connect automatically. This is also true with a service like T-Mobile; you should be prompted to connect at a participating coffee shop or airpport. This is another layer of safeguarding against bogus routers. Go ahead and leave the automatic connection feature on for your secured home network and other networks you connect to all the time (work), but turn it off for *all* others. Thereafter, logging onto a network creates a few seconds of hassle, but the added security is worth it.
• Verify that your PC's software firewall is turned on, and that Windows' file-sharing feature is off; it's off by default in Windows XP with Service Pack 2. To check this setting, open Control Panel and choose Windows Firewall (you may have to click Security Center first in XP or Security in Vista). In XP, select the Exceptions tab, and look in the Programs and Services to make sure "File and Printer Sharing" is unchecked. In Vista, click Change settings, then select the Exceptions tab and follow the instructions for XP.
• Never send bank passwords, credit card numbers, confidential e-mail, or other sensitive data unless you're sure you're on a secure site: Look for the lock icon in the bottom-right corner of your browser, as well as a URL in the address bar that begins with https. Such sites build in their own encryption.
• Always turn your Wi-Fi radio off when you're not at a hotspot: Hackers can use it to create peer-to-peer Wi-Fi connections with your computer and access it directly.

Thanks to PC World and CNet Reviews for the above suggestions. Click on their names to read a few more of their suggestions.

Keep Your Wireless Networks Secure

Now that wireless networks are so ubiquitous and easy to set up, there are many ways that other people can “jump on” your connection. This may not be harmful for people just trying to find the strongest available signal to browse web pages, but for those that know what they’re doing can possibly steal personal information and see what you’re doing on your network. Since setting up a new WLAN (Wireless Local Area Network) is generally as simple as “plug and play,” it may be worth while to take a few minutes to configure some security features.

Here are some of the things you can do to protect your wireless network:

• Secure your wireless router or access point administration interface. Most router settings are setup by default as an unprotected network. This lets anyone with a wireless card access to your network. When you do setup the secured network, make sure to change the password from its default password. Many times the default password would be something simple like “password.” Create a password that is unique so that only you would know it. However, don’t make it so obscure that you forget it, as you will only use the new password occasionally.
• Don't broadcast your SSID (Service Set IDentifier). Most WLAN access points and routers automatically broadcast the network's name. This makes setting up wireless clients extremely convenient since you can locate a WLAN without having to know what it's called, but it will also make your WLAN visible to anyone with a wireless card. Turning off SSID broadcast for your network makes it invisible to your neighbors and passers-by. This isn’t much of a security feature because once you have connected to the network, anyone can save the connection settings to automatically connect.
• Enable WPA encryption instead of WEP. Encryption is the process of transforming information using an algorithm to make it unreadable to anyone except those possessing special knowledge, usually referred to as a key. WPA provides much better protection and is also easier to use, since your password characters aren't limited to 0-9 and A-F as they are with WEP. WPA support is built into Windows XP (with the latest Service Pack) and virtually all modern wireless hardware and operating systems. A more recent version, WPA2, is found in newer hardware and provides even stronger encryption. At least use WEP encryption if that’s all you have available, it is better than nothing. Using WPA encryption along with a secured password to access the network is typically enough security to prevent unwanted users.
• Control the range and strength of your signal. Not all routers have this capability, but with some you can lower the power and strength of your signal. It is very unlikely that you can broadcast the signal do the exact distance you want it, but it is worth a try. Additionally, you never know how far or strong a signal you yourself may need. Sometimes a stronger signal is worth more than the chance of other people at least seeing your connection exists.
• Disable remote administration. Most WLAN routers have the ability to be remotely administered via the Internet. Ideally, you should use this feature only if it lets you define a specific IP address or limited range of addresses that will be able to access the router. Otherwise, almost anyone anywhere could potentially find and access your router. As a rule, unless you absolutely need this capability, it's best to keep remote administration turned off. (It's usually turned off by default, but it's always a good idea to check.)

It is important to know that none of these suggestions are a complete protection; they just make it a little harder for people to access your wireless network. To be honest, most of us with laptops and wireless capable devices have jumped onto others wireless networks. The majority of the time people are just looking to access their email or general websites. Without encryption and other protective measures, anyone can use readily available tools to see all your Wi-Fi traffic. Being prepared and securing your connection can save you some hassle and interruptions from the other not so honest users.

I found a great tutorial on how to setup and secure a wireless network. It walks you through step by step. Better yet it even gives pictures to guide you through the process. Click here for the tutorial.